Twitter, the free social networking and micro-blogging service, has become incredibly popular because of its ability to allow people to instantly send information to a large group of people. As a student, Twitter can be used as an educational tool to help you beat the curve.

Megan Jones over at CollegeDegrees.com lays out some Educational Hacks, links to some useful Applications and twitter tools and also throws in some useful tips.

Below is an excerpt from her article:

Educational Hacks

Twitter is generally considered a social media network, but it provides several academic advantages as well.

Chat with professors and students whenever, wherever: If your professor has Twitter, you can send him or her questions whenever you want, even if office hours aren’t in session. You can also participate in a conversation with your classmates so everyone is involved and constantly contributing to a class discussion, outside of class.

RetweetMe: Set up alerts and reminders so that you don’t forget to study, attend class, or take a final.

Track a professional: If you’re interested in pursuing a particular career and want to learn more about a certain leader in that field, you can “follow” a professional’s tweets.

Collaborate on a project: Whether it’s a formal collaboration or you just want some extra feedback on a project, get your classmates and friends involved to help you out and start a shared conversation on Twitter.

Start a second discussion in class: A very understanding professor may encourage students to Twitter each other about the lecture or “out loud” class discussion to fuel more ideas and start a second discussion.